A Billionaire's Mistake

9|New Girl

Chapter Nine: New Girl

Lincoln

Sienna Stone certainly knows how to throw a party.

As soon as I enter the office building, I don't even recognize the place. Fairy lights are strung against every wall from floor to ceiling, white canopies of fabric hanging from the rafters above. A stage has been set up in the back of the large room decorated with flower arrangements no doubt provided by her best friends whom I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday.

I'm offered champagne by a waiter passing with a tray, and as I bring the glass to my lips I try to survey the room to find Sienna. The place is crowded with people I've never seen before, and yet I can just feel the wealth in the room. Designer gowns and fitted suits, the chatter of yachts and vacation homes lingering about as I make my way around the room. For once, I'm glad I decided on my best-fitted Armani suit that I owned. It's tailored to my body perfectly, and tonight, I wore a dress shirt that I left unbuttoned, a gold chain dangling around my neck that falls just above the serpent head.

Sienna's friend Carmen, the woman who called me eye candy yesterday, is mingling with a group of people as I approach. She's wearing a black gown that's embossed with silver sequins, her black braids looking freshly done and held back by a decadent head wrap. When her eyes lift to mine, she has a devilish grin on her face. "Well, well well," she hums, sipping her champagne, "look who it is."

"Carmen," I reply and bow my head in greeting, introducing myself to the others she's conversing with, "always a pleasure."

Soft classical music plays softly in the background as Riley approaches with a crab cake in one hand, and a napkin in the other. "Hello," she says quietly. I can tell she's much more reserved than Carmen, and I can also tell she's wary of my intentions with her best friend. Not that she doesn't have reasons to be concerned. I'm not looking for a relationship with her friend, but I don't think Sienna is looking for a relationship with me, either. I'm just wanting the opportunity to give her mind-blowing orgasms that she'll never forget, and does that make me a bad person? Probably.

To someone like Riley, I think it makes me a sleazeball. I've encountered many women in my lifetime, and just by taking one look at her, I can tell that she doesn't do one-night stands. She's the type of woman that likes to be catered to, and she can tell that I'm not a man who can offer Sienna that.

"It's nice to see you," I tell them, "I take it that both of you are responsible for the flower arrangements?"

Riley blinks, then nods. "How did you know?"

I shouldn't be trying to impress them because, really, what's the point? Normally, meeting a woman's friends would terrify the living hell out of me because that would mean things are getting serious, but we ran into them by mistake yesterday, not because Sienna wanted me to meet them, and I could tell that these two women mean the world to her just from being around all of them for five minutes. If I want any shot in hell at starting anything with Sienna, I have to get on their good side first.

"Yesterday I saw that arrangement in the display window at your shop," I say and point to a large vase on the stage filled with roses, peonies, and hydrangeas. "I only recognized it because I have dinner with my mother next weekend, and I was thinking of buying that one to give her."

A potential customer, and a potential billionaire customer at that. Riley's eyes lighten slightly, and then she gives me a tiny smile that's barely visible. "We can make the same arrangement again if you want."

"Fantastic. I'll swing by the shop this week?"

"Sure," Riley says, and although it's not a huge improvement, she seems to have let her guard down slightly.